Audio mixtapes and copyright infringement

whiteth89 · Post by **whiteth89** » Sun Jan 11, 2009 12:58 pm

Hi I have two questions relating to audio copyrights and potential infringement.

When DJ's produce mix tapes of a selection of published and intellectually protected songs from third parties are they braking the law?

If they are the legal owner of the individual songs, which they then electronically mix into one long continuous track and distribute free of charge over the internet, are they infringing copyright?

Does the position alter if they charge people and generate profit from selling these mixes?

Thanks in advance.

Post by **CopyrightAid** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 3:44 pm

The acts you describe require the consent of the copyright owner.

The fact that you may own a legal copy of song does not give you any right to the underlying music itself. Unless the copyright owner has given permission (and you would expect to pay royalties) this would be an illegal reproduction/adaptation/distribution of the work.